MARATHON MAN: Thousand Oaks Councilman Andy Fox...

MARATHON MAN: Thousand Oaks Councilman Andy Fox is due to become mayor Tuesday, and his first order of business will be to shorten the council meetings, which can stretch on for hours (B1). . . . As a Los Angeles County firefighter, Fox sometimes has to leave for work as early as 5 a.m. to get to the station. If the council meets until 2 a.m., he might not get to sleep at all. . . . “I’d say at least 50% of the time I’m either coming off duty or going on duty,” he says. “But I want to emphasize that I knew what I was going into.”

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: When Simi Valley ninth-graders are shifted from junior high to high school next year, the city’s two high schools will be seriously overcrowded, a new report says (B1). . . . One problem is giving kids enough room to run around. “The biggest concern about space is the common areas,” said district official Leslie Crunelle. “P.E. classes need playing fields, and you’re bringing in a grade level of kids who all require P.E.”

SISTER ACT: Don’t look for Sister Francis Marie DiNardo at the convent Tuesday evening. She’ll be behind the register at the McDonald’s near Target, racking up some spending cash for Our Lady of the Assumption School. . . . DiNardo, who has been principal at the school for five years, will be on hand along with several teachers and parents from 5 to 8 p.m. for the fund-raiser, which will funnel 30% of all in-store sales to the school. . . . DiNardo hopes for new drapes out of the deal. “The ones that are here now have been here since 1956, and they’re really bad.”

AT EASE, HEROES: The deadline for nominating community heroes to carry the Olympic torch when it comes through the area next year has been extended until Dec. 15. . . . And who is a hero? “Everyone and anyone is a community hero,” said Debbie Giles with United Way of Ventura County. The heroic act “doesn’t have to be something huge and big; it can be something small and sweet, and you’re qualified.” For information, call 485-6288.